Secreta Auguratricis
by Dreaming Stargazer
Summary: Galena is a girl with a secret, working as a stablehand at Corona's Royal Stables, she enjoys her day to day live. However, once mysterious black rocks start growing, she gets pulled in a larger secret than she could have ever imagined. Follows show-cannon until 'Queen for a Day'. #Isuckatsummaries
1. -Prologue-

**I am really digging my own grave aren't I. Starting a second story whilst not even having finished the first... Oh well.**

 **Hello and Welcome to the First chapter of Secreta Auguratricis AKA The secrets of the Sorceress... Why the latin title? Well, just cuz xD Anyhow This will follow the events of the show, However, only up untill Queen for a Day, then I'll kinda throw show-canon out of the window.**

* * *

The sun hadn't even risen by the time Galena woke up. This wasn't unusual for her, as she had been doing this for years. She stretched her arms and creaked her neck. The girl quickly and quietly got out of bed, accidentally kicking of her black cat named Salem, and lit the small candle on her dresser. Her cherry red hair was tangled all over and her bright green eyes squinted at the sight of it. She quickly combed it down and braided it back in twin braids to keep it out of her face. The only thing to do was her makeup. The dark blue, crescent moon on her forehead stuck out like a sore thumb, just like the stars on her cheek. She usually hid them using powders. Once finally done she snuck out of the house, leaving a quick note to her aunt, and made her way towards the Royal stables, Salem at her heels.

The fifteen-year-old worked at the place for a few years and she couldn't wish for a better job. She loved being among the animals and was an experienced rider herself. Often enjoying her free weekends out in the forest outside of the city or close to Corona's borders.

Galena skipped into the stables, quickly going to work getting the place ready for the day

'Morning Cel.' She greeted cheerily, jolting the golden mare awake. Celeste was given to her by the stable-master, as no-one else, bar maybe the Princess and her handmaiden; Cassandra, had been able to handle her. Any male could expect to get hurt.

The horse snorted and turned her head. 'Aww, don't give me that.' Gale giggled, but the palomino mare wouldn't budge. 'Oh well, I'll guess I'll just give these carrots to-' before the sentence was over Celeste turned in her stall and snatched the carrots out of the girl's hand. 'That's what I thought.'

'Gale!' At the hearing of her name the girl turned. The stablemaster, Mr. Owens, walked in, a giant sack of Mixed food on his shoulder. He was relatively young, Having taken over the duty from his father only a year ago. He was in his late 20's and really tall with messy dark-brown hair and matching eyes.

'Good morning, Sir.' She greeted. 'Are we expecting anyone today?'

Besides housing the horses for the Royal guard, the stables also cared for the horses of those with business in the city.

The young man shook his head. 'No-one new as far as I'm aware, but Shadow will be leaving today.' He nodded towards the black horse on the other side of the stables. 'Could you take care of that?'

The girl nodded as she grabbed the wheelbarrow to feed the horses. 'Sure.'

The morning was quite uneventful. Just the usual chores; Cleaning stables, cleaning the horses, saddling the horses for patrol.

Halfway through the day, however, they had some unexpected guests, namely Princess Rapunzel and Cassandra.

'Your Highness, how can I help you?' Galena asked trying and failing to keep the surprise out of her voice.

The princess gave her a quasi-stern look, unable to keep the corners of her mouth from turning upwards. 'I've told you many times to just call me Rapunzel.'

Gale smiled and pushed a loose lock of hair behind her ear. 'When no-one else is around I will, otherwise I'll keep to protocol. Anyways, Should I ready Max and Fidella? Because I doubt the two of you are here to make small-talk.'

She could see that Rapunzel was trying to hide nervousness, something Cassandra was much better in doing, but decided not to press it. Instead she went to ready the horses.

Galena liked the recently-returned princess. She was very social and outspoken and always ready for a new adventure.

'Will you be going far?' She asked instead. 'So I know how much equipment I need to use for the saddling.'

'We're going to Old Corona.' Rapunzel answered hesitantly, oblivious to the signals Cassandra send her way, and here it became quite clear that the two were up to something. And Galena couldn't hide her curiosity any longer.

'Old Corona? Why?' The only thing that currently could be of interest in Old Corona was a small village.

Cassandra interjected as she led the white stallion towards the exit. 'No reason. Just going for a ride.'

'I'm sorry.' Gale hung her head. 'I didn't mean to press.'

And that was all there would be said about the matter.

* * *

Galena laughed as Celeste jumped over a fallen tree with ease. After being finally done for the day she had taken out the horse for a ride. She enjoyed the ride through the forest, both of them did.

'Slow down!' The redhead laughed. 'Aunt Morgana wanted me to find herbs. And I can't spot them if you run that fast.

Cel snorted in annoyance. She just wanted to run.

'The sooner I find them, the sooner you can go and run.' Gale could only laugh harder as Celeste turned her head to glare at the girl.

She looked at Salem, who was as comfortable as he could be in the basked that hung from the back of the saddle. 'I think she doesn't agree with us.'

The cat just gave her a blank look and yawned.

'The both of you are no fun.' Gale rolled her eyes.

Salem suddenly jerked up, his yellow eyes narrowing and letting out a hiss.

Galena brought Celeste to a halt. 'Salem? What is it.'

The cat usually only reacted when something was about to happen. The black animal kept growling whilst looking all over, his back was arched and his hairs were standing up.

The Redhead looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"What's gotten into-' Her sentence ended in a scream as Celeste suddenly reared up, tossing the both of them to the ground as the horse backed away.

'Easy girl.' Gale tried to calm down the horse as she managed to get hold of the reigns. 'It's alright. Just calm down.'

It took a few minutes but she eventually managed to calm Celeste down. 'Alright, let's just get Salem and go home.' As the girl turned around she spotted what had spooked the golden mare.

Where they had been just a minute ago, large, sharp, black rocks had sprouted out of nowhere. Salem was growling at the things as he slowly moved closer.

Gale swallowed and grabbed the cat away from them and quickly mounted Cel. The black rocks glowing a faint blue in the remaining sunlight. 'Let's go home and Tell Aunt Morgana, She'll want to hear about this.'

* * *

 **And here we have it, the relatively short, first chapter :) I know I ignored most of "What the Hair" but Gale isn't there, so please be patient with me. Also this is more of an establishing chapter anyway.**

 **Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you in the next Chapter.**


	2. -1-

'You really need to be more specific.'

Galena glowered at her aunt. 'Giant, spiky black rocks that had a blueish glow and popped out of nowhere, how more specific can one get?'

Morgana sighed at her niece and brushed her dark brown hair away from her eyes. 'That can basically be most magical rocks. That is to say they are magical. It could just as well be a Blue hawk's eye.' The woman explained, closing the book on Gemstones before her.

'Yes, because stones that you have to mine for usually pop up in perfect spikes above the ground.' The redhead deadpanned. She had hoped that her aunt could help her with what she had seen and, after almost a week finally finding the right moment to ask, she felt sorely disappointed.

'Listen, Gale, I think it's just best that we keep this hidden until we're sure action needs to be taken.' She carefully told her niece. 'We don't need to draw any unnecessary attention towards us.'

Gale deflated visibly and looked at the palm of her hands. She didn't need to get the reminder, knowing fully well what her aunt was talking about. 'I know.' She sighed, closing her hands and putting them in the pockets of her trousers.

Morgana gave the girl a kind smile. 'How is-'

'No much better than it has been.' She answered and gave her aunt a smile. 'But I keep the hope.'

'Good.' Her aunt's smile suddenly went from kind to mischievous. 'Shouldn't you be at the stables by now?'

Galena's eyes widened and glanced at the clock. 'I'm Late!' She exclaimed and all but dashed out of the door, leaving her aunt to giggle at her niece.

The girl reached the palace in record timing, and very out of breath, as she had to run uphill to reach the place. She was just in time to hear the Kings speech.

'We've got much to celebrate during this year's goodwill Gopher grab.' The King started. 'Not only is this the 500thanniversary, but we commemorate this, Princess Rapunzel's very first festival. To mark this joyous event, our princess has redesigned the Gopher grab seal of goodwill.' The girl smiled as Rapunzel stepped forward, waving to the people watching her, a bright smile on her face. Everyone cheered loudly for their princess.

'Thank you so much.' Rapunzel thanked the crowd. 'You're all too kind.'

Galena cheered just as the rest of the crowd. Well, Most of the crowd. The redhead could hear someone booing loudly from somewhere in front of her.

'I'd ignore it if I where you.' Gale told the princess, cradling Salem in her arms to keep him away from the rodent Cassandra was currently brushing. She'd offered to help Cassandra and the others with the preparation of the whole festival, not realizing the cat had followed her into the tent.

Eugene nodded, juggling an apple. 'Rapunzel, who cares? Not anyone likes you, it's just part of life.'

The Raven-haired handmaiden agreed. 'Eugene is right. Someone could not like you for any number of reasons.' Her face turned smug. 'For instance, maybe you have a stupid goatee that makes you look ridiculous, and someone might not like you for that.'

Gale smirked as she tossed Salem out of the tent the group was in, as she got tired of the animal squirming to get out of her grasp.

'You know, Cassandra, it's a little hard to take you seriously when you're holding that thing.' The man countered, pointing to the Gopher in her arms, making Cass glare at him.

'This thing is important.' She defended, straightening her back. 'Gregorio the goodwill gopher represents half a millennium of honor and tradition throughout this kingdom.'

Eugene didn't buy it. 'We're still talking about the rat, right?'

'Gopher! For your information, the Gopher Grab is a Corona institution. I was entrusted as the mascot's caretaker because it is a mark of hollowed esteem.'

Eugene's eyes went from Cassandra to the Gopher and back. 'Yeah, that's special.' He deadpanned before smirking. 'He just pooped on you.'

Cass's eyes widened, quickly checking her tunic as Eugene walked to his girlfriend. 'Listen, blondie, you're just gonna have to accept the fact that some people aren't gonna like you.'

'They're right. I'd just let it go.'

Rapunzel let out a frustrated groan. 'All I can hear is his gravelly, "Boo," over and over in my head.'

Her boyfriend sighed and put his arms on her shoulder. 'Rapunzel, I know your feelings are hurt. I get that. But, hey, you gotta admit, If Cassandra and I are actually agreeing on something, it's probably worth listening to.'

Gale nodded with an amused look. 'Just let it go, Princess.'

Rapunzel smiled. 'you know what? You're right. Thank you.' She gave Eugene a kiss and walked out.

Gale nodded to Salem outside the tent. 'Keep an eye on her.' Salem just yawned and followed the princess.

As soon as she was out of earshot the three shared a look. 'Yeah, no, She's not.' Eugene noted dryly.

Gale hummed in agreement and Cass nodded. 'Nope, not letting go.'

'I don't get it, Cass. Why can't Rapunzel let it go? Okay, so one person doesn't like her. Who cares?'

Cass got smug. 'I know, I mean, only one person likes you, and you're okay with that, maybe two if you count Gale.'

'Exactly!' Eugene then realized what she had said. 'Oh, I see what you did there.'

The handmaiden gave him a smirk. 'I gotta get some lotion for his paws.' She held up the Gopher. 'Can you watch him for a few minutes?' And with that she handed the rodent to Eugene.

The man raised an eyebrow. 'are you sure I can be trusted with this hallowed Corona institution?'

'I was talking to the Gopher.'

Rapunzel groaned as she belly-flopped on the couch in the tent. 'He hates me.' She sighed, her voice muffled by the fabric of the couch. Salem rubbed his head against her feet before sitting back down at Gale's. The girl quickly grabbed him in her arms before he would notice the Gopher in the tent.

Cass turned towards her friend. 'Okay, come on Raps. Give it up. Clearly, this Jerk's got serious problems.'

The princess never lifted her head. 'But if Monty could just see that I was-' Monty is the guy that hates you?' The two other girls chorused. This finally made the princess look up from her sulking.

'Let me guess. You guys love him.'

Gale shrugged. 'I don't dislike him, though, I think he's still holding a bit of a grudge over his cart.'

Eugene and Rapunzel gave her a confused look.

'Long story.'

'Look, you'll just have to accept that Uncl- Monty doesn't like you and there's nothing you can do to change it.'

'Your right.' Suddenly it seemed a lightbulb went off in the Blonde's head. 'There is nothing _I_ can do.' And with that she all but dashed out of the tent once again.

Gale sighed as the princess wouldn't let it go. Cassandra on the other hand checked her pocket watch, checking the time. 'Two hours to go, Chow o'clock.' However, once she grabbed the bowl used to feed the rodent she noticed the thing was empty and Eugene was trying his best not to look guilty. 'Eugene, did you eat all the bimberries?'

'No! no, of course not.' He defended himself. Cassandra narrowed her eyes at him. 'Okay so I ate some, I offered to split. Is that really such a big problem?'

'It kinda is.' Gale confirmed, having seen the event multiple times.

'If Gregorio doesn't get his bimberries before the race, he'll be lethargic, and if he's lethargic, he won't run, and if he doesn't want to run, and if he doesn't run, the Gopher Grab will be ruined and I can't have that!' She ended in a loud shout.

'So I'm gonna go with: Big problem?' Eugene offered with his hands up for defense.

Cassandra grabbed his collar. 'Find me some bimberries. Now.'

Gale found herself in the stands next to her aunt. Whilst the girl normally went back to the stables once the event officially began, but she decided to actually humor her aunt for once.

The announcer walked onto stage with a lot of fanfare. The loud blaring of the instruments made her sink back into the seats.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, it is nearly time for this year's Gopher Grab.' Suddenly Eugene bolted out of one of the tents and jumped on top of one of the boxes laying around the field.

'Attention, ladies and gentlemen. I know we're all anxious to see Gregorio the gopher do his thing. I know I am.' He let out a laugh. 'but before we get started, I'd like to say a few words about the true meaning of goodwill.'

As the crowd mostly grunted in annoyance, Morgana caught her Nieces eye, amusement in her eyes. 'What is he doing?'

'No clue.' A quick lie. But before more could be said Eugene furthered his speech.

'I mean, you gotta ask yourself, "Am I spreading goodwill, or am I spreading good won't?"' He stopped for a moment when the crowd cheered as Cassandra walked onto the field with the Gopher in his cage.

'So, in conclusion, spread goodwill. Bye.' And with that he dashed away.

The handmaiden was dressed in her usual dress she wore when she actually was on duty as well, handmaiden. The girl held up the cage making the crowd cheer even louder.

The competitors readied themselves as the cage itself started a timer.

The doors of the cage opened and the referee blew his whistle to signal the start of the event.

But the rodent didn't get out of the cage.

Cassandra quickly went to check, kneeling down and looking into the box. Only to be barreled over seconds later as Gregorio bolted out.

The crowd chanted as the Gopher dashed trough the field, the competitors closing in on the creature. Gale tilted her head, especially when she noticed Eugene and Cassandra arguing from their place at the sidelines.

The attention went back to the creature as he basically plowed through every contestant, dashing towards the wall and burrowing under it. Monty and his partner in the competition followed it out of the gates and followed the Gopher out.

'Gale, with me.' Before the girl could react, her aunt pulled her towards the field. As one of the physicians in the town she wasted no time helping those that had gotten hurt.

It would be another hour before Monty finally returned with the Gopher that had finally calmed down, but without his partner in the race.

The king stepped on the stage, calming down the confused crowd as Rapunzel walked back onto the field as well, joining her parents and friends on stage.

'All right, all right.' The king spoke up. 'As you all know, the Gopher Grab is a sacred tradition.' The man started his speech, but Gale was only listening halfway, helping the last contestant re-wrap a bandage.

'And the winner of this year's Gopher Grab is good Uncle Monty.'

The crowd went wild cheering loudly as the King handed the shop-owner the Gopher Grab Seal. Well, not everyone.

Gale couldn't help but laugh as the princess booed the man, a bright smile on her face and Monty turned to her, a small smile on his face.

* * *

And that's it for today :)


	3. -2-

**So, let me just preface this with an apology, I'm sorry it took me so long to upload a new chapter, I've just been dealing with a lot of personal stuff, job hunting and more. But with season 3 currently airing, I've finally found the motivation to start again.**

 **So without further ado, the first half of great expotations! Also I hope I did our favorite alchemist right!**

 **Also, I did check this over but my autocorrect kept changing Varian to Marian and it wouldn't recognized Varian as an actual word so if you see a random Marian... That why...**

* * *

Gale hissed, her ribs aching as she pushed a heavy hay-bale to the storage. Salem gave her a knowing look from his spot perched on one of the support beams. One of the horses during yesterday's training session had gotten spooked and managed to nail the young redhead in the chest, either fracturing a rib or just massively bruised it.

"Not a word." she told the cat with an annoyed look. The creature just stretched his back before settling down again.

With a final grunt she pushed the bale into place and stood, pushing a loose lock of hair back into her messy bun.

"Morning, Gale!" she whipped around to greet David, one of the younger Guards, as he walked in, usual grin on his face.

She waved him over, trying not to wince. "Morning, here for Blacky?"

"You know it."

Like it's name suggested, Blacky was a midnight black stallion and a gentle giant. David usually did the saddling himself, so there was no need for Gale to assist unless there was new equipment.

"He's on the east side of the stables, Gemma got angry and broke the walls between their boxes."

David chuckled as he ducked into the storage. "She's still not used to any others, I take it."

"No, " Gale shook her head. "Third of her injuries this month. Mr. Owens is trying to find another solution, but it's not really getting any results."

Celeste snorted in her stall, as if she were amused. Gale opened the door, grabbing the rope of the halter and leading her out and towards the pastures. Doing the same for a few more horses that weren't rostered for either duty or training. During that she had to stop a few times to register some new horses that would be staying for a few days and getting one ready for departure.

David had taken up one of the training pastures. They had several, one with sand for regular lessons, and a few with obstacles for the guards to train.

The girl closed the pasture behind her and leaned back with a huff. Hopefully, this would be a calm day.

* * *

"Next time when I tell myself it's going to be a calm day, please just hit me."

David gave her a strange look, before quickly steering Blacky out if the way of oncoming traffic.

The two were currently in pursuit of a little girl who had decided to sneak in and go for a joyride.

"You take the right. we can cut them off at the square."

"Got it, I'll get the girl, you soothe the horse." David agreed with the plan and steered blacky to the given direction, spurring his steed to go faster.

Gale took the left path, Celeste quickly gaining speed as the roads widened. David had already reached the horse and was coaxing the little girl to grab onto him as she reached them.

The little girl finally grabbed the guard's arm and he lifted her in front of him. Gale reacted quickly, jumping from her saddle to the runaway animal, grabbing the reins and shortened them, forcing the animal to slow to a halt.

The redheaded teen dismounted and let herself fall on the ground, feeling like all the wind had been knocked out of her lungs.

"I'll bring her home, will you be okay getting back to the stables?"

A shaky thumbs-up was the only answer he got, but he took it, leading the little girl back to wherever she came from whilst Gale decided to lay on the ground for another five minutes.

"You should know better than to run off with a child on your back." Gale scolded the chestnut horse as she stood up and grabbed the reigns of both animals. Most of the citizens had calmed down from the encounter and thus the square was slowly filling up again.

"Hey, nice work on the wrangling there." Gale turned her head to greet the royal couple, though mostly Eugene, as Rapunzel was to buy jumping around and marvel at all the people building all kinds of things around her.

"Just doing my job."

"What, they didn't give you a day off?"

Gale nodded. "They did, but for other reasons than... Whatever we're celebrating this time."

"And you're still working?"

"I don't like getting paid for work I didn't do."

Eugene gave her a strange look as the two walked behind the enthusiastic princess. "Your getting paid without having to do the work and you're complaining!?"

The young redhead only shrugged, taking a deep breath so she wouldn't hiss.

"Cassandra! Looking good!" both Eugene and Gale looked to where Rapunzel was looking through some weird helmet she'd swiped from somewhere.

Gale leaned towards Eugene. "Should we tell her that's not Cass?"

The boy she was talking to gave her a weird but amused look from his place high on the ladder.

"Oh, Varian! Hey." The princess interrupted her own rant about all the things she saw. "I haven't seen you since-" Since your last invention nearly killed us." Eugene finished. "So glad you're here, with what looks like a new invention."

"Did I miss something?" Gale asked, gazing around the group.

Rapunzel quickly shook her head, a lock of blonde falling in front of her face. "No, you didn't miss anything."

An amused smile reached the redhead's lips but she didn't comment on the quick and nervous change of subject. "Alright then."

"So Varian. What brings you here."

There was a split second of confusion on Varian's face at the princess's quick change of subject, blue eyes going from one end of the trio in front of him to the other before the question registered making The teen grin. "Please, I wouldn't miss a chance to promote the merits of alchemy. And wait until you see my invention. I think everyone at the expo will be impressed."

Gale's interest was peaked the moment the word Alchemy left his mouth. " You're an alchemist?" Next to the girl Celeste let out a snort as Varian took a step closer and leaned on a cart with a large cloth over it. Gale couldn't really tell if it was because of the subject or she didn't like an unfamiliar male getting closer.

"Alright, alright." the stable-hand chuckled. "I've got to get them back to the stables. It was nice meeting you Varian. I'll see if I can find you during the Expo. Then we can continue the conversation."

Rapunzel raised an eyebrow. "I thought you had the day off?"

Gel turned around with an eye roll. "The opinions vary on that subject. Your highness."

"Its Rapunzel!"

* * *

"I know the difference between Alchemy and Magic, V." she interrupted Varian's rant.

"You should, because Ma-" The teen paused, halting his steps as he realized what she'd said. "wait, V?"

Gale chuckled as she followed the boy through the palace. She didn't really know how he got roped into doing Cassandra's chores but she had no problems with assisting him where she could during her break. It gave her a chance to talk with him about his hobby, and for proper introduction.

"Yeah, it's a nickname." She snickered. "Thought that was obvious."

The fourteen-year-old gave her a strange look, pushing his goggles back in place. Their previous conversation forgotten. "I knew that. So what do I call you then."

"Gale's already a nickname, it's short for Galena." she challenged, holding onto the edge of the laundry cart to prevent it knocking into a passing maid. "But if you can find something to call me, be my guest."

Varian gave the girl a quick once-over as she adjusted the bandana that held her hair back, only to trip when Salem darted in between his feet to get to his owner. "I'll get back to you on that one." he breathed as he steadied himself.

"I'll hold you to that." Gale winked, readjusting her hold on the cart, the cat clambering on her shoulders."Do you need to do much more?"

"No, just a few more things."

"Don't forget you still need to set up."

Varian waved her off, a confident look on his face. "I've got plenty of time."

"Alright, if you say so, I really wish I could offer to help, but the stables are going to be busy." Gale pouted, slowly starting to regret not taking the day off. "So you're still not telling me what you're going to be showing?" she quickly changed her attitude, putting on another coy look.

The black-haired teen matched her grin, not falling for her trick. "You'll have to wait and see."

Gale stuck out her tongue. "You're no fun


	4. -3-

**So... I had like, most of this already written and then everything went wrong in december, I finally felt better in January/February and then I had work and then the whole covid stuff that had my mom decide hey let's redo the garden, I turned into a plant mom somewhere in this whole process and miraculously only one of them died... My life is such a mess Rn.**

 **Anyhoeties, this is a bit of a longer chapter, we get to learn some more about gale and stuff.**

* * *

Who had decided for Gale to go to the expo would be up to discussion, but she did find herself on the edge of the crowd. Barely managing to get a view of the stage by positioning herself on a wall. She'd missed the first few inventions, though she wasn't really interested in those.

To her surprise, the curtains opened to reveal Rapunzel. Though she really should have seen it coming. The princess was always involved in whatever activity she could partake in.

Rapunzel cleared her throat, silencing the audience. "Dangerously wet hallways, Cold, wet clothes. Wet hair that takes forever, " she paused pushing ever very long hair over her shoulder for emphasis. "and I mean forever to dry. All of those are yesterday's problems. Say hello to the Mega Dry! Assistant!"

The curtains opened to reveal a very large contraption, akin to a very large fan hooked up to a large treadmill with Max standing on it, ready to go whenever the order came.

Eugene walked forward and tossed a large bucket of water over himself.

"The Mega-Dry uses cutting edge equine technology to release a powerful, focussed stream of air." The blonde mentioned to Max, and he started running, powering on the machine.

"The result? What used to take hours to dry, now takes seconds."

The audience audibly gasped as Eugene ran a hand through his now dry hair, though that quickly turned to laughter when his hair frizzed out.

Rapunzel let out a bashful laugh. "I think I still had it calibrated for my hair."

The judge gave her an unimpressed once-over and scribbled something down. "next."

The princess nodded and disappeared from the stage, taking her invention with her.

Varian was the next to step onto the stage. "Behold! The power of Alchemy." he hadn't even finished the sentence when the curtains behind him started to move, someone trying to get through whilst shouting. The crowd laughed when one of the local thugs finally broke through, Gale vaguely remembered his name was Shorty. The young alchemist composed himself and cleared his throat, drawing the attention back to him.

"I give you, The elemental Remogrifier!" with the signal given, the thug pushed the invention into the light. His was way smaller than the princess's was, looking more like a trapezoid barrel on wheels with a handle on the side. "Assistant?"

The short man awkwardly pulled the handle down. The compartment started to whirl and spin.

"The rotation causes friction, " Varian started and dumped some sand into the opening. "which heats the same, while the counter-centrifugal force promotes particle compression. The result? Fifty pounds of sand turns into... This"

The boy turned off the machine and reached in, grabbing whatever was in there and held it up into the light.

A bright purple crystal.

"wow." Gale jumped, knocking Salem off of her lap. She'd been so focussed on the stage she never noticed the princess walk up on her.

Letting out a breath Gale had to agree. "It's impressive."

Varian grinned. "I call this new element: Cassandrium!"

Any kind of awe the crowd had for the presentation faded as Shorty tumbled backwards off the stage. Setting in a chain reaction, scaring a goat that dashed into the baker Atilla, who, in a startled reaction chucked the knife he was toying with, aimed directly at the judge.

It was Cassandra's reaction, as she'd been standing behind the judge the entire time, that saved the day, grabbing onto the handle at the last possible second.

Heavy silence followed as St. Croix composed himself, giving the teen a dangerous look. "Despite it's lack of flair and panache, I was almost inclined to give your device a mediocre assessment."

Salem let out a soft growl, not raising his head, making clear the black cat had heard the unfair judgment. "I know." Gale muttered, running her fingers over his head.

"However! Considering your assistant nearly lanced my nasal cavity, I've no choice but to disqualify you."

Cassandra stepped forward, sharply whispering something to the judge as gas filled the stage, forcing Varian off the stage. Gale huffed and jumped down putting Salem on her shoulders. She tried to force her way to the crowd but most people had been too enthusiastic about the next contestant to let her trough.

The redhead huffed and narrowed her eyes at the people in front of her, before she made her way back to the princess, this time jumping on the wall and using it to get around, trying to dodge flying candy or whatever it was the woman on stage tried to gain any favours with.

She was halfway trough the wall when someone pulled her back. Rapunzel pointed to the direction Varian had gone to. Cassandra had beaten Gale to the punch and seemed like she was trying to cheer the teen up.

"We'll go see them afterwards." The princess told her friend with a small smile.

"Alright." Gale's expession turned amused. "You need any help putting away your oversized fan?"

Rapunzel didn't rise to the bait, instead choosing to nod and lead the younger girl away.

The two of them, and moments later Eugene, (Who'd managed to fix his fair back to the way it was.) and decided to drag the Mega-Dry back to the castle. Though Gale's ribs didn't agree as she lifted the wooden bottom.

They didn't get farther than a few meters when Varian's shouts to stop rang out.

Gale turned around as Salem jumped down and ran towards the Alchemist, who got tossed to the ground by St. Croix.

The large man huffed and pulled down the handle as the black cat launched himself at his hands turning on the machine. Gale took off after her familiar.

"Oh this is bad." The alchemist exclaimed as Cass helped him stand.

"How bad is bad?" Gale asked as she reached him, scooping Salem in her arms to prevent the animal from going after a fight he'd lose.

"Well.." Varian took a deep breath and started to ramble an explanation. " Introducing counter-centrifugation to the magnetism could result in well..." A pause as the wind started to pick up and the whirling of the machine managed to create a whirlwind that kept growing. "That! Its angular momentum is rapidly approaching critical velocity. Once that happens, it'll suck up everything in sight. Us, The castle!" Midway trough his sentence, Varian managed to trip, falling over and being sucked towards the large whirlwind.

Cassandra jumped into action, grabbing the Teen's leg and pulling him back. He apparently didn't weigh very much because the whirlwind still managed to pull him towards the centre.

"Okay, so that's bad."

"How do we stop it?" Gale interrupted the two, feet steadily on the ground.

Varian nodded, being snapped back to the problem on hand. "There's only one way to stop it! I need to get close enough to pull the break!"

Gale was about to ask how they were supposed to do that when the Remogrifier was currently in the middle of a giant vortex when the teen was pulled closer to it from within Cassandra's grasp.

"I can't get close enough!" He called down, trying to get himself heard over the volume of the whirlwind. "The vortex has gotten too strong! We need an equally powerful wind source to counteract it!"

Rapunzel gasped. "The Mega-Dry! The Mega-Dry can generate that kind of wind speed and blow against the Vortex."

The princess grabbed Gale and her boyfriend so the two could help the large contraption into place and help Max onto the treadmill.

"He needs to create a counterpoint to the vortex's critical velocity!"

Gale groaned, either from hurt ribs or annoyance. Shouting out an "English!" at the same time Rapunzel turned to Max. "He means you have to run backwards!"

The white horse nodded and did as he was told, resulting in the Mega-Dry vacuuming back what the vortex had swallowed. The Remogrifier slowly lowered to a point Varian barely managed to reach the handle.

The moment he pulled it down, the vortex closed, tossing the young alchemist and everything else to the ground without warning. Cassandra managed to catch him, quite awkwardly as she had been holding onto his ankle.

Eugene let out a cheer and gave Rapunzel a chaste kiss. "We did it! Blondie, hands down, your best invention yet."

Gale had dropped to the floor, spread out like a starfish, earning amused chuckle from the few bystanders.

"You okay?" The redhead just gave Cassandra a thumbs up as she and the Alchemist joined the group.

"I'll be fine... in a few hours."

* * *

Sometimes Gale hated herself for letting herself getting roped into helping. - bloody princess with her bloody puppydog eyes. -

Salem wasn't really helping, instead he jumped at every thing that moved, trying to catch it. The redhead sighed, just keeping to herself as the other four had their private conversations in pairs. The young girl just kept her attention to her broom, dodging the judge and other contestant who was begging for a victory.

"Serves them right." Was het only thought as Salem stopped his playing for a second to hiss at them.

"Salem." The girl chided, pretending to be mad at her companion, but the cat just gave her a look and then went back to chasing strings.

Though it was about a minute later when she heard Cassandra from where she stood with Varian.

'Black Rocks?' From the looks of it, Cass hadn't meant for it to be as loud as she was, though it appeared Varian didn't notice. But Gale's interest had been piqued.

'They just sprouted up a couple of weeks ago.'

Gale interrupted.'Near Old Corona?' Varian gave her a quick nod.

'I've never seen anything like it.'

'Yeah, My aunt wanted me to find herbs near he northern part of the river. They sprouted up out of nowhere.'

Rapunzel, who just joined the conversation and Cassandra gave each-other A careful look. "Could you guys show them to us.'

* * *

And that is how Gale found herself walking next to Cassandra, with Rapunzel and Varian in front of them, engaged in a deep conversation Varian had started.

Gale had taken Celeste with her, with the excuse of going out for a ride after, and Salem, lazy thing, was napping in the saddle basket.

'Will you be going to the Full Moon festival next week?' Gale snapped up, confused look on her face as she looked at Cassandra.

'Not likely.' She answered. "I still don't know why Corona even Celebrates it.'

Rapunzel stopped mid-sentence and both she and Varian gave her a weird look.

Cass on the other hand let out a huff more akin to a snort. 'I forgot you're not from Here.'

'Well Duh, have you even seen one other person with my hair-color in the entire city?'

'You've lived here long enough.'

'Still it-' Wait, where are you from and what has that to do with the Full Moon festival?' Rapunzel interjected, stabilizing Varian as he tripped over a root.

'I'm from Meria, and the Full Moon Festival is one of our traditions, It's our new year celebration, It symbolizes the height of ones powers and celebrates growth and is a reflection on how one has grown over the year.'

'That's a good thing, Why shouldn't we celebrate such a thing?'

'It's a festival Celebrating Magic? And I believe we all know Corona's stance on magic at this point.' Gale hadn't meant to sound as bitter as she did and quickly answered Cassandra's original question for the second time. 'Not that I'm going either way, Even if my aunt makes me go, I'll likely hang out by the docks.'

Luckily, they all went along with the subject change, even if Varian looked like he didn't want to.

Rapunzel raised another eyebrow and pushed some of her hair out of her eyes. 'Why the docks?'

'The square has way to many people, the dock is calmer and actually has their own small little orchestra.'

'But didn't you do fine in the crowds this morning.'

Gale gave Varian a small laugh at his statement. 'Because I could focus on one thing, I thought that was the point of your presentation.' She kept her tone light, trying to dispel the worried looks she got. 'the square just get's... loud, during festivals and there is so much going on at once...'

'And yet you're fine working in the stables during major event.'

'Oh I am, It can just still go wrong if I'm having a bad day, you can ask Cass about that.' Both of them pulled a face. 'But it's a lot less people and they're coming and going, big groups never stay long and I can hide away in the back if need be. Crowds in the square are a different thing. That's why I like the docks.'

'And you like avoiding Cal.'

Cale barked a surprised laugh at Cassandra's observation. 'Well, you're not wrong.' And with that the conversation was over, and they had reached the black rocks and the Silence could be cut with a knife. Rapunzel was the first to move forward, slowly inching closer, as soon as she stood in front of them the rocks seemed to react. Slowly glowing a bright blue, to which the princess' hair answered, glowing a bright golden.

'Fascinating.' Varian muttered as he walked forward, eyes taking in every detail he could as the others followed suit. 'The rocks are demonstrating an actual physical response...' He trailed off looking from the rocks to Rapunzel. 'To you.' He wasn't wrong. Gale could feel the energy stir in the air and, surprisingly, buzz under her skin, making her scratch at her arms. Rapunzel on the other hand practically slapped her hands on Varian's mouth, shushing the boy. 'I need you to promise to keep this between you and me okay? And them."

'Why?'

'Because my dad has forbidden me from talking about these rocks to anyone.' She explained, waving one of her hands between the four of them. 'We, collectively are going to figure it out. But i need to know if i can trust you, The both of you.'

'Your secret is safe with me, princess.'

Varian nodded as well.

'You can count on me.'

* * *

 **So Meria is located outside of the seven kingdoms. Just for people to know. Also Gale's explanation of her aversion to crowds is based on my own... kind of. I only have it in one specific supermarket, even with my headphones on my nerves just shoot trough the roof because the spaces between shelves are like minimal, everything is just stacked on top of eachother and Everyone takes the carts instead of baskets and i hate every second of it. everyone is basically on top of eachother...ugh.**

 **Anyhow, I'll probably make the Full Moon festival be the centre of the next chapter, I like sprinkling in my own events between plot. But we'll see.**


End file.
